Dorm Living for Professionals Comes to San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO — In search of reasonable rent, the middle-class backbone of San Francisco — maitre d’s, teachers, bookstore managers, lounge musicians, copywriters
and merchandise planners — are engaging in an unusual experiment in communal living: They are moving into dorms.
Shared bathrooms at the end of the hall and having no individual kitchen or living room is becoming less weird for some of the city’s workers thanks to Starcity, a new development company
that is expressly creating dorms for many of the non-tech population.
“I never thought I could live like this,” Ms. Shiver said.
Because of arcane permitting rules and neighborhood associations
that push against new developments, building new housing in San Francisco is painfully slow.
“You don’t need to do that in your own unit alone, so why pay for it?”
Mr. Dishotsky grew up in Palo Alto, Calif., where housing prices have soared and the median home value is now more than $3 million.
“I feel like I’m in a relationship with everyone I live with,” Ms. Ndrepepaj said.
